Despite sunny promises, most community college students are shunning careers in manufacturing, technical and skilled trades, leaving Michigan employers and the colleges themselves bewildered.
Talent & Education
To prosper, Michigan must be a more educated place. Bridge will explore the challenges in education and identify policies and initiatives that address them.
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Troubling times for Michigan’s community colleges
Struggling students and falling enrollment are presenting challenges to Michigan’s 28 community colleges. Their leaders are aiming to reverse fortunates with innovative job programs.
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Smartest kids: Teaching starts early, with special focus on the poor, in Minnesota
Minnesota traces its elite status to tough academic standards, the nation’s most extensive early childhood education program and higher investment in low-income schools.
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How Minnesota and Michigan students compare on the NAEP
Michigan vs Minnesota Michigan and Minnesota spend roughly the same amount per pupil, and yet the performance of Minnesota students on national tests is far superior to that of Michigan students, including low-income students. Proponents of the Minnesota system note that the North Star state budgets its money differently. Below, how students in the two […]
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Smartest kids: In Tennessee, an epic turnaround
A perennial bottom dweller in academic rankings, Tennessee has sprinted to respectability by demanding more of teachers and students and giving them the tools to succeed.
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Smartest kids graphic: How Michigan and Tennessee compare on NAEP
Comparing the latest NAEP scores from Michigan and Tennessee, you might not notice much difference: students in both states produce middling results. But these graphics show how Tennessee students are rapidly improving, while Michigan has barely budged.
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'The smartest kids': About this series
As Michigan students muddle along in academic mediocrity, their peers across much of the nation are zooming past. What are other states doing that Michigan is not? Bridge visited four to find out.
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Robots enter Flint, change lives
New robotics center at Flint's Kettering University opens doors for minority students.
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How robotics changed one girl’s path
Flint Hamady High School student De'Shondria Bedenfield went from quiet student to champ with a milling machine after becoming hooked by robotics.
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UM soars, MSU doesn't on freshmen test scores
Since 2001, Big Ten schools have become far more selective, when measured by the ACT scores of incoming freshmen. But MSU, like most in-state schools, stayed pretty much the same.